1. Field of the Invention
The field of this invention relates to dishware and more particularly to dishware that resists spilling of food and also resists spilling of food by wind.
2. Description of the Related Art
The spilling of food in conjunction with dishware is an exceedingly common occurrence. People can contact a dish and cause the dish to be tipped or moved off of a table, counter or bench. Dishware that is designed particularly for outdoor usage has a further problem of being subjectable to wind. A breeze can cause a dish to be blown off a table, bench or counter.
Dishware that is designed particularly for outdoor usage is constructed of inexpensive sheet material, such as plastic or paper. Such dishware is exceedingly light in weight. Therefore, such dishware is readily susceptible to wind and can easily be blown off of a table. If the dish contains a substantial amount of food, usually the food is of sufficient weight to keep the dish stationary even in windy conditions. However, as the food is consumed, the dish will become lighter in weight and when the consumption of the food gets near to the point to where the dish is almost empty, the dish is quite susceptible to being tipped over by the wind. It would be desirable to design dishware that is designed primarily to be used in an outdoor environment to be temporarily fixable to a table, bench or counter that will resist the tipping over of the dishware by the wind.
There have been previous attempts at designing dishware to be wind resistant. Such dishware of the prior art have been constructed to include an adhesive along the entire bottom of the dish with the adhesive to then be applied to a table, bench or counter which will then function to hold in position the dish on the supporting surface. Typically, the adhesive is covered with a cover layer that is to be removed prior to usage. However, the removing of this cover layer does not permit easy and immediate usage of the dishware because of the additional step of removing the cover layer and then requiring disposal of the cover layer. Additionally, it is common for such dishware to be stacked and marketed in a stacked position prior to usage. It is a requirement that such dishware to be as sanitary as possible because such dishware will be directly used once the dishware is removed from its package. The fact that the food serving compartment will have been in direct contact with an adhesive layer of another dish is not conducive to a sanitary condition. There is always the worry that some of the adhesive, though non-toxic, could remain on a food receiving chamber of a food serving dish which is not conducive to clean usage.
The present invention is to provide spill resistant dishware that will remain upright when subjected to wind, vehicle motion and inadvertent contact with people or pets.
The first basic embodiment of the present invention comprises a food serving dish which has a food receiving chamber surrounded by a peripheral edge. An annular support flange is attached by a top edge to the peripheral edge. The annular support flange has an annular free edge with this annular free edge to rest on a supporting surface. An adhesive is applied to the annular free edge. The adhesive has a low tack which causes the dish to become fixed in position on a supporting surface but yet permits the dish to be easily manually moved having no residue on its supporting surface. The adhesive permits disengagement of the dish and resecurement of the dish on the supporting surface.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the first basic embodiment is modified by the food receiving chamber having a planar bottom.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the just previous embodiment is modified by the planar bottom being spaced from the supporting surface.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the just previous embodiment is modified by the top edge being of a smaller diameter than the bottom edge.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the first basic embodiment is modified by the adhesive completely covering the annular free edge.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the first basic embodiment is modified by including of at least one opening in the annular support flange to facilitate insertion of a user""s fingers and picking up of the food serving dish from the supporting surface.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the shape of the opening includes flared ends which facilitates connection to a napkin to retain that napkin and keep that napkin from being blown by the wind.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the first basic embodiment is modified by the food serving dish being defined as a bowl.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the first basic embodiment is modified by the food serving dish being defined as a tray.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the first basic embodiment is modified by the food serving dish being defined as a plate.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the first basic embodiment is modified by the food serving dish being defined as a cup.
A second basic embodiment of the present invention comprises spill resistant dishware which includes an annular support sleeve which surrounds an internal chamber. The internal chamber is adapted to receive a beverage container with the beverage container being supported by the annular support sleeve. The annular support sleeve has an annular free edge with this annular free edge being adapted to rest on a supporting surface. An adhesive is applied to the annular free edge. The adhesive has a low tack which causes the annular support sleeve to be fixed in position on the supporting surface but yet permits the annular support sleeve to be easily manually moved leaving no residue on the supporting surface. The adhesive permits disengagement of the annular support sleeve and resecurement of the annular support sleeve on the supporting surface.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the second basic embodiment is modified by there being included at least one longitudinal slit within the annular support sleeve to facilitate enlargement of the upper edge of the annular support sleeve in order to have the annular support sleeve to accommodate to larger sizes of beverage containers.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the second basic embodiment is modified by the top edge of the annular support sleeve, which is a bead, being of a smaller diameter than the annular edge.
A further embodiment of the present invention is where the second basic embodiment is modified by the adhesive being applied entirely to the annular free edge of the annular support sleeve.